Registry cleaners

[Linkmeister]

From an e-mail I got from McAfee:

A better solution is Registry Power Cleaner. This easy-to-use, Microsoft-tested utility safely and automatically fixes hard-to-find PC problems, stabilizing your system.

Anyone ever used one of these? I keep getting these annoying Windows application errors that give me a message that reads something like "application found error at location -- whole bunch of hex numbers" and I'm wondering if a registry cleaning might resolve them.

[adrian]

Re: Registry cleaners

I'd just reformat, but that'll be a bit extreme.

Maybe you can reinstall the application?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Registry cleaners

Be careful with registry cleaners. Sometimes they clean out defunct keys that still use .dll files shared with other active programs.

Be extra careful when using them with operating systems prior to XP. I've had to reinstall entire operating systems because the cleaners took out too much.

[Linkmeister]

Re: Registry cleaners

I'd just reformat, but that'll be a bit extreme.

Maybe you can reinstall the application?

That might do it if the stupid messages told me which application(s) was/were causing the problem.

I don't really want to buy one as much as I was curious about anybody else's experience with the things.